December 2013
Volume 20 Number 8
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Chuck LeClaire/Pittsburgh Senior News
Bob Evans and Greg Stewart at the Ohio Valley Lines Museum in Ambridge.
Trains for Tots program makes lifetime holiday memories for local children By Gina Mazza For Pittsburgh Senior News When Greg Stewart, 59, of Bethel Park opened the former Stew’s Hobby Shop in Bellevue in 2009, he wanted to do something to both revitalize interest in model trains and give back to less fortunate families in the area. “My wife and I said to each other, ‘We should do something for kids’,” Greg remembers, and it’s been full steam ahead ever since.
That same year, the Lionel company had just introduced its Little Lines 49-piece train playset, which retails for about $60. So Greg and his wife, Lynn, founded the nonprofit Trains for Tots and purchased 25 sets with their own money. “Living in Bellevue most of my life, I knew families that were hurting and needed some help at Christmastime, so I had 25 children—ages seven to 13—and their families
AARP seeks volunteers to spread holiday cheer, see page 24 to learn more.
come into the store, and we gave each of them a brand new train set.” Coincidentally, while this gift give-away was going on, one of the customers in the store was train enthusiast Bob Evans of the North Side, a volunteer with the Ohio Valley Lines Museum and Library (OVL) in Ambridge. “A few months later, Bob got in touch with Continued on page 4
“Wig consultant” helps women feel more beautiful in spite of hair loss. Read page 27.